Ian Hislop
Encyclopedia
Ian David Hislop is a British journalist
, satirist, comedian
, writer, broadcaster
and editor
of the satirical magazine Private Eye
. He has appeared on many radio and television programmes, most notably as a team captain on the BBC
current affairs
satirical quiz
Have I Got News for You
.
, Swansea
, to a Scottish
father, David Hislop, and a Channel Islander mother of English descent, Helen Rosemarie née Beddows. When he was five months old, Hislop's family began to travel around the world because of his father's job as a civil engineer.
During his infant years, Hislop lived in Nigeria
, Kuwait
, Saudi Arabia
and Hong Kong
. On his return to Britain he was educated at Ardingly College
, an independent boarding school, where he became Head Boy, and began his satirical career directing and appearing in revues alongside Nick Newman
. Hislop and Newman's association continued when they attended Oxford University together, later working together at Private Eye
and on a number of comedy scriptwriting jobs. Hislop applied to read Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Oxford, but changed to English Literature
before arriving. He graduated from Oxford's Magdalen College
with the degree of BA
in 1981.
and had left for Wales in her late teens, died in 1992. Hislop did not know his grandparents.
Hislop's paternal grandfather, David Murdoch Hislop, died just before Hislop was born. He was Scottish and became a deacon
at a Presbyterian church and a school headteacher at Newton Academy in Ayr
. In the First World War he fought in Northern France with the 9th Highland Light Infantry
.
Hislop's maternal grandfather, William Beddows, was originally from Lancashire
. He joined the British Army
in 1895 and fought in the Second Boer War
with the King's Own Royal Regiment
, and served in major campaigns including the Battle of Spion Kop
. He moved to Jersey
to serve as a Sergeant, having signed up in 1906 for another ten years in the army.
, who was then editor of Private Eye
. Hislop joined the publication immediately after leaving Oxford, and became editor in 1986 upon Ingrams' departure. It was revealed in an interview with The Independent
that this was despite opposition from Eye hacks Peter McKay and Nigel Dempster
, with the former taking the magazine's majority shareholder, Peter Cook
, out for lunch in an attempt to dissuade him from appointing Hislop. Cook pressed on however, and his new editor sacked both McKay and Dempster from the magazine without hesitation.
As editor of Private Eye Ian Hislop is the most sued man in English legal history, although he is not involved in as many libel actions as he once was. The most famous libel case involving Hislop and Private Eye was brought by the publishing magnate Robert Maxwell. After the case he quipped: "I've just given a fat cheque to a fat Czech." The magazine's attacks on Maxwell were fully vindicated by the revelations of fraud that followed his death. On another occasion, when ordered to pay £600,000 in damages after being sued for libel by Sonia Sutcliffe, wife of the Yorkshire Ripper, Peter Sutcliffe
, Hislop told reporters waiting outside the High Court: "If that's justice, then I'm a banana." The award was dropped to £60,000 on appeal. In his many court cases, Hislop has only won twice.
Hislop continues to be applauded for his wit and satire. In an interview with Third Way Magazine
he said: "Satire is the bringing to ridicule of vice, folly and humbug. All the negatives imply a set of positives. Certainly in this country, you only go round saying, ‘That’s wrong, that’s corrupt’ if you have some feeling that it should be better than that. People say, ‘You satirists attack everything.’ Well, we don’t, actually. That’s the whole point."
' in its twenty-year history, even filming an episode in the seventh series in spite of suffering from appendicitis
(he had discharged himself from hospital immediately before the show).
chat show Loose Talk
in 1983, an experience he disliked so much that he included it on his list of most hated items when he first appeared on the BBC show Room 101
. Hislop was also a screenwriter
on the 1980s political satire series Spitting Image
, in which puppets were used to depict well-known figures, mostly politicians. He even had a puppet of himself, which sometimes appeared as a background character in sketches.
Along with Nick Newman
Hislop wrote the BBC Radio 4
series Gush, a satire based on the first Gulf War
, in the style of Jeffrey Archer. With Newman he also wrote the family-friendly satirical sitcom My Dad's the Prime Minister
and in the early nineties for the Dawn French vehicle Murder Most Horrid
. Hislop and Newman wrote the Radio 4
series The News At Bedtime
, aired over the 2009 Christmas season. The series starred Jack Dee
as 'John Tweedledum' and Peter Capaldi
as 'Jim Tweedledee'; the two present the "news of the day" in the world of fairy tales, while arguing with each other as did their namesakes
.
Hislop has also presented serious television programmes. These include School Rules, a three-part Channel 4 study on the history of British education; an edition of the BBC
's Who Do You Think You Are?, in which he attempted to trace his genealogy and Not Forgotten
, a four-part series on Channel 4 detailing the impact on British society of the First World War. A further programme, Not Forgotten: Shot at Dawn, was broadcast in January 2007, and a sixth episode, Not Forgotten: The Men Who Wouldn't Fight, featuring the stories of conscientious objectors such as Ronald Skirth
, was aired on 10 November 2008. He also presented one episode of the BBC's Great Railway Journeys
, in which he travelled in India ["India East to West" from Calcutta to Rajasthan]. In May 2007 he presented a programme on BBC Four, Ian Hislop's Scouting for Boys, celebrating Robert Baden-Powell's book which inspired the Scout
movement. Another BBC Four programme, Ian Hislop Goes Off the Rails, about the Beeching Report
and its impact on the British railway network, was first aired on 2 October 2008, and achieved the second highest audience to date for any BBC Four programme (and the highest for a documentary) with 1.3 million viewers.
He has also written and presented factual programmes for Radio 4 about such subjects as tax rebellions, female hymn composers, scouting and patron saints of Britain
and Ireland. In 2007 he became the only person to make a second guest appearance on Room 101. He has also been a comedy screenwriter for Harry Enfield
.
In 2003 he was listed in The Observer
as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy. He has also appeared in a number of Question Time
editions (13 as of September 2010). In one he made an open attack on Jeffrey Archer, who had been imprisoned for perjury
, when his wife, Mary Archer, was a fellow panellist. She was noticeably angry that the matter had been raised and harangued Hislop after the recording had finished. In another, he suggested that USA vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin
was rare among politicians in being good-looking; the laughter from the audience and raised eyebrows from politicians on the panel prompted him to admit to a "gaffe" for which he then apologised.
Hislop has presented several programmes for BBC 4
, dealing with topics such as Boy Scouts
, the Beeching Axe
and the role of the Poet Laureate
. The latter, Ian Hislop's Changing of the Bard, launched the May 2009 BBC 4 Poetry season, and Hislop recounted the history of the post from the first - official - holder, John Dryden
, to the then recently announced first female, first Scot and first openly bisexual laureate, Carol Ann Duffy
. His series on Victorian social reformers, Ian Hislop's Age of the Do-Gooders, aired on BBC Two
beginning on 29 November 2010. His programme on the history of bank
s, When Bankers were Good, first aired on BBC Two in November 2011, and dealt with famous bankers from history, such as the Rothschilds, as well as nineteenth-century philanthropists and reformers such as Charles Dickens
and Elizabeth Fry
.
Hislop also has a career as an after-dinner speaker and awards presenter, working for several speaker bureaux. He is furthermore an Ambassador for The Scout Association
.
on 16 April 1988 in Oxford
. They have two children, both born in the London borough of Wandsworth
: Emily Helen (born 1990) and William David (born 1993)
. They live in Sissinghurst
. Hislop's wife has a career as an author, and in 2010 Hislop played a small role in the Greek
television series The Island
, which was based on his wife's bestselling novel
. The television series premiered on 11 October 2010 on Greece's Mega
television channel.
and I can't stick at it: I keep having doubts. That probably sums up my position." In 1996, Hislop presented an award-winning documentary series for Channel 4
about the history of the Church of England
, called Canterbury Tales. Recent works of his include the BBC Radio 4
series The Real Patron Saints.
On 4 September 2009, Hislop appeared at the "The Gathering", organised by the Archbishop of Canterbury
, Rowan Williams
, at Canterbury Cathedral
to discuss religion, society and journalism, among other issues, in front of an audience of about 1,000.
on 18 September 2008, he praised Liberal Democrat
treasury spokesman Vince Cable for his analysis of the ongoing economic and financial crisis
, and apparently expressed support for the Liberal Democrats, jocularly stating "I'm standing for them." In a 2009 "Five minutes with" interview with Matthew Stadlen for BBC News
, Hislop stated that if he were required, "at the point of a gun", to stand in an election for any British political party, he would stand for the fictional "Vince Cable for Treasurer
Party". After the formation of the coalition government in 2010
, Hislop remarked on HIGNFY, "I like the idea of this coalition neutralizing the loonies on both sides".
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, satirist, comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
, writer, broadcaster
Presenter
A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...
and editor
Editor in chief
An editor-in-chief is a publication's primary editor, having final responsibility for the operations and policies. Additionally, the editor-in-chief is held accountable for delegating tasks to staff members as well as keeping up with the time it takes them to complete their task...
of the satirical magazine Private Eye
Private Eye
Private Eye is a fortnightly British satirical and current affairs magazine, edited by Ian Hislop.Since its first publication in 1961, Private Eye has been a prominent critic and lampooner of public figures and entities that it deemed guilty of any of the sins of incompetence, inefficiency,...
. He has appeared on many radio and television programmes, most notably as a team captain on the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
current affairs
Current affairs (news format)
Current Affairs is a genre of broadcast journalism where the emphasis is on detailed analysis and discussion of news stories that have recently occurred or are ongoing at the time of broadcast....
satirical quiz
Quiz
A quiz is a form of game or mind sport in which the players attempt to answer questions correctly. In some countries, a quiz is also a brief assessment used in education and similar fields to measure growth in knowledge, abilities, and/or skills.Quizzes are usually scored in points and many...
Have I Got News for You
Have I Got News for You
Have I Got News for You is a British television panel show produced by Hat Trick Productions for the BBC. It is based loosely on the BBC Radio 4 show The News Quiz, and has been broadcast since 1990, currently the BBC's longest-ever running television panel show...
.
Early life
Hislop was born on 13 July 1960 in MumblesMumbles
Mumbles or The Mumbles is an area and community in Swansea, Wales which takes its name from the adjacent headland stretching into Swansea Bay...
, Swansea
Swansea
Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
, to a Scottish
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
father, David Hislop, and a Channel Islander mother of English descent, Helen Rosemarie née Beddows. When he was five months old, Hislop's family began to travel around the world because of his father's job as a civil engineer.
During his infant years, Hislop lived in Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
, Kuwait
Kuwait
The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
, Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
and Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
. On his return to Britain he was educated at Ardingly College
Ardingly College
Ardingly College is a selective independent co-educational boarding and day school, founded in 1858 by Canon Nathaniel Woodard, included in the Tatler list of top public schools. The college is located in the village of Ardingly near Haywards Heath, West Sussex, England, having moved to its present...
, an independent boarding school, where he became Head Boy, and began his satirical career directing and appearing in revues alongside Nick Newman
Nick Newman
Nick Newman is a satirical British cartoonist and comedy scriptwriter.The son of an RAF officer, Newman was born in Kuala Lumpur and schooled at Ardingly College where his satirical career began, working on revues with Ian Hislop...
. Hislop and Newman's association continued when they attended Oxford University together, later working together at Private Eye
Private Eye
Private Eye is a fortnightly British satirical and current affairs magazine, edited by Ian Hislop.Since its first publication in 1961, Private Eye has been a prominent critic and lampooner of public figures and entities that it deemed guilty of any of the sins of incompetence, inefficiency,...
and on a number of comedy scriptwriting jobs. Hislop applied to read Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Oxford, but changed to English Literature
English literature
English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
before arriving. He graduated from Oxford's Magdalen College
Magdalen College, Oxford
Magdalen College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. As of 2006 the college had an estimated financial endowment of £153 million. Magdalen is currently top of the Norrington Table after over half of its 2010 finalists received first-class degrees, a record...
with the degree of BA
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in 1981.
Family
When Hislop was 12 years old his father, David Hislop, died; his mother, who was born in JerseyJersey
Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...
and had left for Wales in her late teens, died in 1992. Hislop did not know his grandparents.
Hislop's paternal grandfather, David Murdoch Hislop, died just before Hislop was born. He was Scottish and became a deacon
Deacon
Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...
at a Presbyterian church and a school headteacher at Newton Academy in Ayr
Ayr
Ayr is a town and port situated on the Firth of Clyde in south-west Scotland. With a population of around 46,000, Ayr is the largest settlement in Ayrshire, of which it is the county town, and has held royal burgh status since 1205...
. In the First World War he fought in Northern France with the 9th Highland Light Infantry
Highland Light Infantry
The Highland Light Infantry was a regiment of the British Army from 1881 to 1959. In 1923 the regimental title was expanded to the Highland Light Infantry ...
.
Hislop's maternal grandfather, William Beddows, was originally from Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
. He joined the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
in 1895 and fought in the Second Boer War
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
with the King's Own Royal Regiment
King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster)
The King's Own Royal Regiment was an infantry regiment of the line of the British Army, which served under various titles from 1680 to 1959. Its lineage is continued today by the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment.-History:...
, and served in major campaigns including the Battle of Spion Kop
Battle of Spion Kop
The Battle of Spion Kop was fought about west-south-west of Ladysmith on the hilltop of Spioenkop along the Tugela River, Natal in South Africa from 23–24 January 1900...
. He moved to Jersey
Jersey
Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...
to serve as a Sergeant, having signed up in 1906 for another ten years in the army.
Private Eye
At Oxford he founded and edited the magazine Passing Wind, for which he interviewed Richard IngramsRichard Ingrams
Richard Ingrams is an English journalist, a co-founder and second editor of the British satirical magazine Private Eye, and now editor of The Oldie magazine.-Career:...
, who was then editor of Private Eye
Private Eye
Private Eye is a fortnightly British satirical and current affairs magazine, edited by Ian Hislop.Since its first publication in 1961, Private Eye has been a prominent critic and lampooner of public figures and entities that it deemed guilty of any of the sins of incompetence, inefficiency,...
. Hislop joined the publication immediately after leaving Oxford, and became editor in 1986 upon Ingrams' departure. It was revealed in an interview with The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
that this was despite opposition from Eye hacks Peter McKay and Nigel Dempster
Nigel Dempster
Nigel Richard Patton Dempster was a British journalist, author, broadcaster and diarist. Best known for his celebrity gossip columns in newspapers, his work appeared in the Daily Express and Daily Mail and also in Private Eye magazine...
, with the former taking the magazine's majority shareholder, Peter Cook
Peter Cook
Peter Edward Cook was an English satirist, writer and comedian. An extremely influential figure in modern British comedy, he is regarded as the leading light of the British satire boom of the 1960s. He has been described by Stephen Fry as "the funniest man who ever drew breath," although Cook's...
, out for lunch in an attempt to dissuade him from appointing Hislop. Cook pressed on however, and his new editor sacked both McKay and Dempster from the magazine without hesitation.
As editor of Private Eye Ian Hislop is the most sued man in English legal history, although he is not involved in as many libel actions as he once was. The most famous libel case involving Hislop and Private Eye was brought by the publishing magnate Robert Maxwell. After the case he quipped: "I've just given a fat cheque to a fat Czech." The magazine's attacks on Maxwell were fully vindicated by the revelations of fraud that followed his death. On another occasion, when ordered to pay £600,000 in damages after being sued for libel by Sonia Sutcliffe, wife of the Yorkshire Ripper, Peter Sutcliffe
Peter Sutcliffe
Peter William Sutcliffe is a British serial killer who was dubbed "The Yorkshire Ripper". In 1981 Sutcliffe was convicted of murdering 13 women and attacking seven others. He is currently serving 20 sentences of life imprisonment in Broadmoor Hospital...
, Hislop told reporters waiting outside the High Court: "If that's justice, then I'm a banana." The award was dropped to £60,000 on appeal. In his many court cases, Hislop has only won twice.
Hislop continues to be applauded for his wit and satire. In an interview with Third Way Magazine
Third Way Magazine
Third Way Magazine is a UK current-affairs magazine written from a Christian perspective. It is distinctively biblical, fairly highbrow and culturally aware...
he said: "Satire is the bringing to ridicule of vice, folly and humbug. All the negatives imply a set of positives. Certainly in this country, you only go round saying, ‘That’s wrong, that’s corrupt’ if you have some feeling that it should be better than that. People say, ‘You satirists attack everything.’ Well, we don’t, actually. That’s the whole point."
Have I Got News for You
Hislop is the only person to have appeared in every episode of Have I Got News for YouHave I Got News for You
Have I Got News for You is a British television panel show produced by Hat Trick Productions for the BBC. It is based loosely on the BBC Radio 4 show The News Quiz, and has been broadcast since 1990, currently the BBC's longest-ever running television panel show...
Appendicitis
Appendicitis is a condition characterized by inflammation of the appendix. It is classified as a medical emergency and many cases require removal of the inflamed appendix, either by laparotomy or laparoscopy. Untreated, mortality is high, mainly because of the risk of rupture leading to...
(he had discharged himself from hospital immediately before the show).
Other television and radio work
Hislop's television debut was on the short-lived Channel 4Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
chat show Loose Talk
Loose Talk
Loose Talk was a British youth orientated chat show which ran for two series on Channel 4 in 1983. It was presented by Steve Taylor, along with a different guest presenter each week....
in 1983, an experience he disliked so much that he included it on his list of most hated items when he first appeared on the BBC show Room 101
Room 101 (TV series)
Room 101 is a BBC comedy television series based on the radio series of the same name, in which celebrities were invited to discuss their pet hates and persuade the host to consign them to a fate worse than death in Room 101, named after the torture room in the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, which is...
. Hislop was also a screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
on the 1980s political satire series Spitting Image
Spitting Image
Spitting Image is a British satirical puppet show that aired on the ITV network from 1984 to 1996. It was produced by Spitting Image Productions for Central Television. The series was nominated for 10 BAFTA Awards, winning one for editing in 1989....
, in which puppets were used to depict well-known figures, mostly politicians. He even had a puppet of himself, which sometimes appeared as a background character in sketches.
Along with Nick Newman
Nick Newman
Nick Newman is a satirical British cartoonist and comedy scriptwriter.The son of an RAF officer, Newman was born in Kuala Lumpur and schooled at Ardingly College where his satirical career began, working on revues with Ian Hislop...
Hislop wrote the BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
series Gush, a satire based on the first Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
, in the style of Jeffrey Archer. With Newman he also wrote the family-friendly satirical sitcom My Dad's the Prime Minister
My Dad's the Prime Minister
My Dad's the Prime Minister is a British sitcom written by Ian Hislop and Nick Newman. It centres around the life of the Prime Minister, his family and his spin doctor...
and in the early nineties for the Dawn French vehicle Murder Most Horrid
Murder Most Horrid
Murder Most Horrid is a BBC dark comedy anthology series starring comedian Dawn French. It ran for four series runs, in 1991, 1994, 1996 and 1999....
. Hislop and Newman wrote the Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
series The News At Bedtime
The News at Bedtime
The News at Bedtime is a satirical comedy series on BBC Radio 4 written by Ian Hislop and Nick Newman, writers of the satirical Private Eye magazine. The series is a spoof of news programmes, in particular shows such as The Today Programme, set in "Nurseryland", a place in which all nursery rhymes...
, aired over the 2009 Christmas season. The series starred Jack Dee
Jack Dee
James Andrew Innes "Jack" Dee is an English stand-up comedian, actor and writer known for his sardonic, curmudgeonly, and deadpan style.-Early life:...
as 'John Tweedledum' and Peter Capaldi
Peter Capaldi
Peter Dougan Capaldi is an Academy Award and BAFTA award winning Scottish actor and film director. In 1995, his short film Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life won the Academy Award for Live Action Short Film...
as 'Jim Tweedledee'; the two present the "news of the day" in the world of fairy tales, while arguing with each other as did their namesakes
Tweedledum and Tweedledee
Tweedledum and Tweedledee are fictional characters in an English language nursery rhyme and in Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There. Their names may have originally come from an epigram written by poet John Byrom. The nursery rhyme has a Roud Folk Song Index number...
.
Hislop has also presented serious television programmes. These include School Rules, a three-part Channel 4 study on the history of British education; an edition of the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's Who Do You Think You Are?, in which he attempted to trace his genealogy and Not Forgotten
Not Forgotten (TV)
Not Forgotten is a British television documentary series made by Wall to Wall for Channel 4. The series examines the impact on British society of the First World War. It is written and presented by Ian Hislop...
, a four-part series on Channel 4 detailing the impact on British society of the First World War. A further programme, Not Forgotten: Shot at Dawn, was broadcast in January 2007, and a sixth episode, Not Forgotten: The Men Who Wouldn't Fight, featuring the stories of conscientious objectors such as Ronald Skirth
Ronald Skirth
John Ronald Skirth served in the Royal Garrison Artillery during the First World War. His experiences during the Battle of Messines and the Battle of Passchendaele led him to resolve not to take human life, and for the rest of his army service he made deliberate errors in targeting calculations...
, was aired on 10 November 2008. He also presented one episode of the BBC's Great Railway Journeys
Great Railway Journeys
Great Railway Journeys, originally titled Great Railway Journeys of the World, is a recurring series of travel documentaries produced by BBC Television...
, in which he travelled in India ["India East to West" from Calcutta to Rajasthan]. In May 2007 he presented a programme on BBC Four, Ian Hislop's Scouting for Boys, celebrating Robert Baden-Powell's book which inspired the Scout
Scouting
Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement with the stated aim of supporting young people in their physical, mental and spiritual development, that they may play constructive roles in society....
movement. Another BBC Four programme, Ian Hislop Goes Off the Rails, about the Beeching Report
Beeching Axe
The Beeching Axe or the Beeching Cuts are informal names for the British Government's attempt in the 1960s to reduce the cost of running British Railways, the nationalised railway system in the United Kingdom. The name is that of the main author of The Reshaping of British Railways, Dr Richard...
and its impact on the British railway network, was first aired on 2 October 2008, and achieved the second highest audience to date for any BBC Four programme (and the highest for a documentary) with 1.3 million viewers.
He has also written and presented factual programmes for Radio 4 about such subjects as tax rebellions, female hymn composers, scouting and patron saints of Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
and Ireland. In 2007 he became the only person to make a second guest appearance on Room 101. He has also been a comedy screenwriter for Harry Enfield
Harry Enfield
Henry Richard "Harry" Enfield is a BAFTA-winning English comedian, actor, writer and director.-Early life:...
.
In 2003 he was listed in The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy. He has also appeared in a number of Question Time
Question Time (TV series)
Question Time is a topical debate BBC television programme in the United Kingdom, based on Any Questions?. The show typically features politicians from at least the three major political parties as well as other public figures who answer questions put to them by the audience...
editions (13 as of September 2010). In one he made an open attack on Jeffrey Archer, who had been imprisoned for perjury
Perjury
Perjury, also known as forswearing, is the willful act of swearing a false oath or affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to a judicial proceeding. That is, the witness falsely promises to tell the truth about matters which affect the outcome of the...
, when his wife, Mary Archer, was a fellow panellist. She was noticeably angry that the matter had been raised and harangued Hislop after the recording had finished. In another, he suggested that USA vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin
Sarah Palin
Sarah Louise Palin is an American politician, commentator and author. As the Republican Party nominee for Vice President in the 2008 presidential election, she was the first Alaskan on the national ticket of a major party and first Republican woman nominated for the vice-presidency.She was...
was rare among politicians in being good-looking; the laughter from the audience and raised eyebrows from politicians on the panel prompted him to admit to a "gaffe" for which he then apologised.
Hislop has presented several programmes for BBC 4
BBC Four
BBC Four is a British television network operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation and available to digital television viewers on Freeview, IPTV, satellite and cable....
, dealing with topics such as Boy Scouts
The Scout Association
The Scout Association is the World Organization of the Scout Movement recognised Scouting association in the United Kingdom. Scouting began in 1907 through the efforts of Robert Baden-Powell. The Scout Association was formed under its previous name, The Boy Scout Association, in 1910 by the grant...
, the Beeching Axe
Beeching Axe
The Beeching Axe or the Beeching Cuts are informal names for the British Government's attempt in the 1960s to reduce the cost of running British Railways, the nationalised railway system in the United Kingdom. The name is that of the main author of The Reshaping of British Railways, Dr Richard...
and the role of the Poet Laureate
Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom
The Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, also referred to as the Poet Laureate, is the Poet Laureate appointed by the monarch of the United Kingdom on the advice of the Prime Minister...
. The latter, Ian Hislop's Changing of the Bard, launched the May 2009 BBC 4 Poetry season, and Hislop recounted the history of the post from the first - official - holder, John Dryden
John Dryden
John Dryden was an influential English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who dominated the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the period came to be known in literary circles as the Age of Dryden.Walter Scott called him "Glorious John." He was made Poet...
, to the then recently announced first female, first Scot and first openly bisexual laureate, Carol Ann Duffy
Carol Ann Duffy
Carol Ann Duffy, CBE, FRSL is a Scottish poet and playwright. She is Professor of Contemporary Poetry at the Manchester Metropolitan University, and was appointed Britain's poet laureate in May 2009...
. His series on Victorian social reformers, Ian Hislop's Age of the Do-Gooders, aired on BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
beginning on 29 November 2010. His programme on the history of bank
Bank
A bank is a financial institution that serves as a financial intermediary. The term "bank" may refer to one of several related types of entities:...
s, When Bankers were Good, first aired on BBC Two in November 2011, and dealt with famous bankers from history, such as the Rothschilds, as well as nineteenth-century philanthropists and reformers such as Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
and Elizabeth Fry
Elizabeth Fry
Elizabeth Fry , née Gurney, was an English prison reformer, social reformer and, as a Quaker, a Christian philanthropist...
.
Hislop also has a career as an after-dinner speaker and awards presenter, working for several speaker bureaux. He is furthermore an Ambassador for The Scout Association
The Scout Association
The Scout Association is the World Organization of the Scout Movement recognised Scouting association in the United Kingdom. Scouting began in 1907 through the efforts of Robert Baden-Powell. The Scout Association was formed under its previous name, The Boy Scout Association, in 1910 by the grant...
.
Personal life
Ian married Victoria HamsonVictoria Hislop
Victoria Hislop is an award winning British author.-Personal:Born in Bromley, she grew up in Tonbridge and attended Tonbridge Grammar School for Girls....
on 16 April 1988 in Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
. They have two children, both born in the London borough of Wandsworth
London Borough of Wandsworth
The London Borough of Wandsworth is a London borough in southwest London, England, and forms part of Inner London.-History:The borough was formed in 1965 from the former area of the Metropolitan Borough of Battersea and much of the former area of the Metropolitan Borough of Wandsworth, but...
: Emily Helen (born 1990) and William David (born 1993)
. They live in Sissinghurst
Sissinghurst
Sissinghurst is a small village in the county of Kent in England. Originally called Milkhouse Street , Sissinghurst changed its name in the 1850s, possibly to avoid association with the smuggling and cockfighting activities of the Hawkhurst Gang.The nearest railway station is at...
. Hislop's wife has a career as an author, and in 2010 Hislop played a small role in the Greek
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
television series The Island
To Nisi
To Nisi is a Greek television series based on the best-selling English novel The Island by Victoria Hislop airing on Mega Channel. The series premiered on 11 October 2010 to record ratings and critical acclaim...
, which was based on his wife's bestselling novel
The Island (2005 novel)
The Island is a historical novel written by Victoria Hislop. It has won several awards including Newcomer of the Year at the 2007 British Book Awards...
. The television series premiered on 11 October 2010 on Greece's Mega
Mega Channel
Mega Channel, also known as Mega TV or just Mega, is a major television network in Greece. Teletypos S.A. was founded in 1989 under the name Teletypos Television Programmes S.A...
television channel.
Religious views
In Caroline Chartres' book Why I Am Still an Anglican, Hislop opens his chapter by saying "I've tried atheismAtheism
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities...
and I can't stick at it: I keep having doubts. That probably sums up my position." In 1996, Hislop presented an award-winning documentary series for Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
about the history of the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
, called Canterbury Tales. Recent works of his include the BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
series The Real Patron Saints.
On 4 September 2009, Hislop appeared at the "The Gathering", organised by the Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
, Rowan Williams
Rowan Williams
Rowan Douglas Williams FRSL, FBA, FLSW is an Anglican bishop, poet and theologian. He is the 104th and current Archbishop of Canterbury, Metropolitan of the Province of Canterbury and Primate of All England, offices he has held since early 2003.Williams was previously Bishop of Monmouth and...
, at Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England and forms part of a World Heritage Site....
to discuss religion, society and journalism, among other issues, in front of an audience of about 1,000.
Political views
Hislop has been highly critical of all major British political parties for over 20 years. Appearing on Question TimeQuestion Time (TV series)
Question Time is a topical debate BBC television programme in the United Kingdom, based on Any Questions?. The show typically features politicians from at least the three major political parties as well as other public figures who answer questions put to them by the audience...
on 18 September 2008, he praised Liberal Democrat
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
treasury spokesman Vince Cable for his analysis of the ongoing economic and financial crisis
Late-2000s financial crisis
The late-2000s financial crisis is considered by many economists to be the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s...
, and apparently expressed support for the Liberal Democrats, jocularly stating "I'm standing for them." In a 2009 "Five minutes with" interview with Matthew Stadlen for BBC News
BBC News
BBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
, Hislop stated that if he were required, "at the point of a gun", to stand in an election for any British political party, he would stand for the fictional "Vince Cable for Treasurer
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called the Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...
Party". After the formation of the coalition government in 2010
United Kingdom coalition government (2010–present)
The ConservativeLiberal Democrat coalition is the present Government of the United Kingdom, formed after the 2010 general election. The Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats entered into discussions which culminated in the 2010 coalition agreement, setting out a programme for government...
, Hislop remarked on HIGNFY, "I like the idea of this coalition neutralizing the loonies on both sides".
External links
- Debrett's People of Today
- Ian Hislop interview (Evening Standard)
- "There's no place like Gnome", profile by Nick Greenslade, The Observer, 22 October 2006
- Ian Hislop interviewed by Ciar Byrne for The IndependentThe IndependentThe Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
celebrating his 20th year as editor of Private EyePrivate EyePrivate Eye is a fortnightly British satirical and current affairs magazine, edited by Ian Hislop.Since its first publication in 1961, Private Eye has been a prominent critic and lampooner of public figures and entities that it deemed guilty of any of the sins of incompetence, inefficiency,...
. - Ian Hislop: satirist in chief Stephen Moss, guardian.co.uk, Friday 23 September 2011 22.59 BST